Gabby Agbonlahor, Jonathan Kodjia and Rushian Hepburn-Murphy are all available for the matches against Reading and Fulham.

Obviously Kodjia’s recovery from a dead leg is the biggest boost for Bruce, whose team have relied on their top scoring talisman for goals this season.

But the simultaneous returns of Agbonlahor and Hepburn-Murphy gives the manager an interesting dilemma over the remaining five games.

Kodjia and Scott Hogan are Bruce’s first choice striker partnership, of that there is no doubt.

The duo could go on to cost Villa in the region of £30 million between them and they have found the net 34 times in the Championship this season.

Agbonlahor and Hepburn-Murphy, the players competing for the role of chief understudy, have yet to score in the second tier.

The experienced man’s last goal came in a Premier League victory over Norwich City over a year ago, while the rookie is waiting to open his senior account.

But the Championship run-in offers Bruce a little scope for experimentation and the chance to have a look at members of his support cast.

Here’s why one of the returning strikers deserves more opportunities than the other.

Previous thoughts on the subject

Here’s what I wrote after a friendly victory over Worcester City at Stourport last summer - and I see no reason to change my view.

“Rushian Hepburn-Murphy is everything Gabby Agbonlahor used to be - and potentially more.

“Right now, if it was a choice between including Hepburn-Murphy or Agbonlahor in the first team squad, the younger man is a much more exciting proposition.

“This is not meant to be a critical piece about Agbonlahor. There are enough of those in the Birmingham Mail’s recent archives.

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“Hepburn-Murphy looks like being Gabby’s natural successor, with a goal that Agbonlahor in his pomp would have been proud of.

"Using a mixture of pace, power and precociousness, the 17-year-old burst from the halfway line, taking out several defenders before advancing into the box, taking a moment to compose himself and slotting in a neat finish.

"Every time he had the ball at his feet he looked a threat and every time he didn’t he went searching for it.

"As Agbonlahor departed the action a Villa fan near me pondered ‘I wonder if that’s the last we’ll see of Gabby?’.

"Probably not, but it’s time to see a lot more of Hepburn-Murphy, a youngster with potential to beat Agbonlahor at his own game."

Involvement since then

It's been another strange season for Agbonlahor.

He started the campaign persona non grata under Roberto Di Matteo and resisted Villa's efforts to send him out on loan, including to this weekend's opponents Reading.

Bruce's arrival in November heralded a fresh start for Agbonlahor, who embarked upon his own pre-season, two months into the season and was eventually deemed fit enough to play.

Since returning as a substitute for the Second City derby draw at St Andrew's he has played 447 minutes of Championship football this term from four starts and seven substitute appearances.

His latest first team revival was halted by a hamstring problem he sustained in training in late January, after arguably his most impressive performance of the season in the 2-2 draw with Preston North End at Villa Park.

As for Hepburn Murphy, he has 12 minutes of Championship football under his belt from two late substitute cameo appearances, four minutes in the home draw with Newcastle United and eight minutes in the defeat at Cardiff City.

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By all means give him his cameo against Blues on April 23 when he is guaranteed to be fired up, but surely the next few weeks offers the perfect opportunity to see what Hepburn-Murphy can do.

Villa fans have been restricted to a few glimpses of Hepburn-Murphy and are desperate to know whether he is the next Darius Vassell or the next Nathan Delfouneso.

What better time to find out than during the first season run-in for half a decade when Villa have little riding on the results and are in a position to plan for next season.

The future

The future

Agbonlahor, who remains Villa's record Premier League scorer with 74 goals for those not suffering with short memories, has a year left of his contract after this season - and faces a big summer to prove he still has a part to play at Villa.

Hepburn-Murphy is tied to Villa until the summer of 2020.

One is an 18-year-old whizzkid, albeit raw, with his whole career in front of him.

The other is a 30-year-old stalwart, albeit experienced, with his best days behind him.

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Villa latest

Having fended off interest from rival clubs to keep him at the club, it’s time for Villa to have a serious look at what RHM is capable of, even if the decision is then made to send him out on loan in 2017-18.

Bruce is a fan of Agbonlahor. He has gone on the record on numerous occasions to suggest the Brummie striker still has plenty to offer.